Omdia’s market survey reveals the MENA industry is optimistic about 5G

Telecoms.com periodically invites expert third parties to share their views on the industry’s most pressing issues. In this piece Francesca Greane, Marketing, Content and Community Lead for5G MENA 2020, discusses the findings from Omdia and 5G MENA’s recent market survey. 

Recently, research powerhouse Omdia and 5G MENA completed their annual market survey, hearing from hundreds of service and solution providers in the region as they determined the true state of 5G across Middle East and Africa. According to the survey results, the telecoms industry in MENA expects the launch of 5G to have a positive impact on the revenue and profit margins of service providers in the region. But the survey, which is summarised in Omdia’s latest Market Survey Report, also revealed that the industry sees challenges in deploying and commercialising 5G.

The main findings of the survey can be summarised below:

The advanced Gulf markets have launched 5G early by global and regional standards.

The early launches of 5G in the Gulf reflect the fact that these are high-income countries with ambitions to use technology to advance national development plans. Almost 60% of respondents to the survey said technology leadership was their company’s main reason for deploying 5G.

The MENA industry expects 5G to have a positive impact on the key financial metrics of service providers. Although survey respondents see the near-term business case for 5G services as a challenge, they also have a wider and longer-term expectation that 5G will raise service provider revenue and profit margins in the MENA region. This view is based on a number of outcomes from the survey responses, including:

Survey respondents see media and entertainment as a promising industry for 5G revenue in MENA. Almost 59% of survey respondents saw media and entertainment as one of the three best opportunities for 5G revenue in MENA, while digital media use cases were ranked second only to mobile broadband for 5G revenue opportunities. The high ranking for media and entertainment are a significant indicator of industry expectation.

Based on both the survey results, and extensive analysis on the 5G ecosystem across MENA today, Omdia provided some key recommendations for solution and service providers operating in the region, including:

The entirety of the survey responses, alongside key market and business recommendations can be found in Omdia’s Market Survey report. Download the full report for free by clicking here.

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